


Act Your Age

by strangethingsareafootatthecirclegay



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Some Fluff, of my favourite boys, they deserve to be friends, this is just
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:28:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22048627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangethingsareafootatthecirclegay/pseuds/strangethingsareafootatthecirclegay
Summary: In which Klaus and Five have a day to themselves
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & Klaus Hargreeves
Comments: 3
Kudos: 174





	Act Your Age

Allison wants them out of the house.

Klaus and Five, that is.

She loves them both (they’re her brothers, after all), but Klaus’ drug habit and sudden moments of sadness scare her, and Five makes her uncomfortable.

She never knows what to say to him. Does she talk to him respectfully? He’s much older than her, after all. His constant anger tires her, and his mannequin girlfriend confuses her. Plus, he’s just a prick in general. They both need to learn to act their age, she decides. (Preferably far away from her, though)

She tells Five that Klaus needs looking after for the day, tells him to keep him out of trouble, and harm’s way. She gives him money for the bus. She tells Klaus the same thing, only she gives him her credit card. It’s a trick she learned from a parenting book: make them both feel in charge.

The Academy is very quiet after they’re gone. She can’t decide whether or not she likes it.

———————————

“How old?” The bus driver asks, nodding to Five.

“Hmm?”

A silent conversation goes on between Klaus and his brother, Five glaring at him icily. The bus driver is unfazed by this, if a little weirded out by Klaus’ dress sense.

“How old’s the kid?”

Klaus tosses the feather boa over his shoulder, sending Five a meaningful look.

“Fifty Eight.” His brother answers, daring the man to argue. 

Klaus bites his lip. He’s enjoying this. Five wants to strangle him.The man nods, taking Five’s money, and handing him his ticket.

“There you are, young man.” He winks. “Or, should I say old man?”

Klaus casually drapes an arm around his brother’s shoulders. “Teenagers, ey?”

Five frowns in disgust at the child’s ticket that he’s just been issued.

He glowers at his younger brother as he flops down in a window seat. “That was utterly humiliating.”

“I think the word you’re looking for is hilarious, ‘young man’.” Klaus grins.

“I hate you.”

“You shouldn’t speak to your father like that.” Tuts an elderly lady from opposite them.

“Exactly.” Klaus smiles smugly. “Anyway, I don’t see the problem. A kid’s ticket is like five bucks cheaper.”

“It’s insulting.” Five hisses, scrunching up his dark brows.

This is going to be a long day.

———————————

Five watches his brother twirl, legs swinging, on his bar stool, and rolls his eyes. “I don’t understand you.”

“We’re in the same boat here, Five.” Klaus shrugs, and stops spinning to face his brother.

Five raises his eyebrows, about to object, but Klaus continues.

“No one in our family truly knows us.”

Five scrunches his nose up. “If you honestly think I care about tha-“

Klaus shakes his head, cutting him off. “This is what I’m talking about, Five. You clearly do care, otherwise you wouldn’t be the feral little man child you are now.”

No comment from Five. If he frowns any more, his face may fold in on itself.

Klaus pushes the spoon in his hand around his triple chocolate fudge sundae, turning the perfectly sculpted desert into a messy sludge. “Also, you’re a prick. And I understand. You’ve gone through hell, Five. No one else can understand that. They’re all too fixated on their own problems.”

“Vanya ca-“ Five starts to object, but then sighs. He no longer looks angry, just very, very tired. “You’re right, Klaus. And I’m sorry about your friend.”

Klaus blinks. “My friend?”

“In Vietnam. I saw the dog tags. I’m sorry. War is a terrible thing.”

Five sips his coffee, determined not to let his brother see him weakened. He holds his mug in front of his face for a moment, trying to gather himself back together. He hasn’t cried in years, and doesn’t want that to change now.

He sets his mug back down.

Klaus’ eyes are wet, his face red and blotchy. He’s clutching the dog tags in both hands, shaking. “I loved him.” He whispers. It soon turns into a sob, his shoulders heaving.

Five stands up, his face unreadable.

Klaus stands too, bracing himself for a lecture, or worse, but instead, something completely unexpected happens.

Five wraps his arms around his brother. The top of his head doesn’t even reach Klaus’ chin. Klaus smiles a little through his tears. Five’s shoulders begin to shake. He buries his face in Klaus’ shirt. Klaus’ feather boa tickles his nose, but he tries not to care too much.

Klaus is shocked, but pats his brother’s head after a moment. “Hey, hey!!! Don’t go getting all upset over me.”

Five’s sniffles turn to full-on sobs. Ben appears over his shoulder, looking worried. He mutters something about breaking Five.

“You’re getting Ben worried, see…”

“You can see him?” Five furrows his eyebrows. His eyes are still red, but there are no more tears. It seems his little moment stopped as suddenly as it started.

He awkwardly detaches himself from his brother.

“I can see ghosts, Five. Of course I can see Ben, you idiot.”

Ben makes a rude gesture at his eldest brother. Klaus tells him, of course.

Five sniffles his last sniffle, and dries his eyes, and promptly tells Ben (in the most condescending voice possible) to act his age. And the cloud of sadness lifts, and they are just brothers, laughing in a café together.

Later, they will go out for waffles (at Ben’s request), and wander through museums (at Five’s request) and to the cinema, to watch the latest Marvel movie (at no one’s request, but it is out, and so they feel they have to see it) although Five will have no idea what’s going on. And, when they eventually walk back (Five will refuse to take the bus again) to The Academy, they will walk back as friends. Allison will open the door, expecting them to be blind drunk, but will be pleasantly surprised to see that they are fine, if a little hyper from all the popcorn.

And, after that, they will have to stop the apocalypse.

But this all happens later.

Let’s just leave them with this moment for now.


End file.
